Prime Minister's Office
English rendering of PM's address at the inauguration of SVP Hospital in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on 17th January, 2019
Brothers and sisters
Kem chho! 
This is my first trip to Gujarat in this New Year. A very happy new year to all of you once again. It is festival time. There are so many festivals in the days to come. You just celebrated the pious festival of Uttarayan with fun and gaiety. Another festival is slated to start form tomorrow in Gujarat-Vibrant Gujarat. This year people have gathered from all across the globe. The Who’s who of business have developed an affinity for Gujarat.
The upgraded facilities of New India has fostered a business festival like environment here. Such is the spirit of Gujarat!
Friends, we can enjoy such festivals even more when all the members of the family are in the pink of health. In this pursuit, today we have accomplished a great project.
Today I have the honour of dedicating a wonderful basic facility to the people of Gujarat and Ahmedabad. I am grateful to Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and the government of Gujarat for giving me this opportunity.
I proudly commission this 750 crore rupee worth infrastructure Sardar Vallabh Bhai Institute of Medial Science and Research to the service of the nation. Accept my congratulations for this state of art hospital.
Friends, the nation remembers Sardar Saheb as a competent administrator, visionary leader and godfather of the farmers. But Sardar Saheb was also a proponent of cleanliness and public health. With this spirit, he has made valuable contributions in developing several health facilities. Wherever his soul may be today, I am sure he must be feeling proud of the developments made by the city where his political pursuits germinated. His soul must be really in bliss to see the construction of such an advance health facility in his city. I am convinced that all of you associated with this development are receiving his blessings too for such a commendable work.
I am sure this new state of art hospital in Ahmedabad indeed stands tall among all the world health infrastructure.
Friends, some time earlier I happened to inspect this hospital, and I must accept that I was spell bound. It is a marvelous feeling to see your dream actuated, and beyond words to explain the feeling of seeing it with your own eyes… you can well imagine the ecstasy and satisfaction experienced at that moment.
In 2011-12 while we would be discussing the issue which was most pressing, even then there were so many regressive thoughts circulating in the corridors. We were victims of so many false allegations. But whoever sees this facility today, they are bound to feel satisfied and realize the importance of such health infrastructure in the life of the common man. And there will probably be very few corporations in the country, which, in addition to their designated responsibilities, handle such additional responsibilities in an appreciable way. It is rarely seen that they provide such advance world class facility.
Hence, the officers of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation deserve special compliments. Each of you who were assigned the responsibility, who gave their valuable time and contributed with your skills and intellect with utmost dedication and integrity ever since the inception of this project in 2012, deserve accolades. You have given such a superior hospital which will not only help the people of Gujarat but the other states as well. This competes with the world’s best health facilities today. The cabins, bed and the entire campus are par excellence.
Utmost care has been taken of the modernization while being mindful of environment. This facility with 1500 beds has catapulted the health infrastructure in Ahmedabad. This is the first of its kind government hospital which boasts of its own helipad providing safe landing facility for air ambulance.
Friends, I can recall that before 2000, Gujarat did not have enough government hospitals, and there was great shortfall of doctors and manpower required in the existing ones.
People used to avoid going to government hospitals. The health facility was accessible only to the affluent class. These things used to hurt within. To bring the state out of such deficiency, government took special policy decisions and established new government hospitals, medical colleges and emphasized the need to increase the intake in medical seats.
Today I feel happy to see that Gujarat stands consolidated entity in providing better health facilities to not only Gujaratis but residents of other states and countries.
Medical tourism has also propelled in the last one and half decade. Now people from all over the world come to Gujarat to receive health benefits. And christened after Sardar Sahib, this new hospital will now further strengthen the health sector here. And most importantly, this is another hospital empaneled with the Ayushman Bharat Scheme.
Normally the poor will be in awe of such advance health facility and will evade using it since they believe that this will certainly be beyond their financial capabilities. But I am very satisfied that this hospital dedicated to Sardar Sahib will offer free treatment to people covered under Ayushman Bharat scheme.
Brothers and sisters, schemes like Ayushman Bharat, Pradhanmantri Jan Aarogya Yojna has reinstated trust among the poor people and they now feel secure with the health related facility provided by the government. 50 crore brothers and sisters of our country now feel confident that government is standing by them in their critical ailments. Now there is no fear of mortgaging their own homes or land for treatment. Even if they do not have money even then he can ensure good health for himself. The poor now have belief and faith in the system.
Friends some people call this scheme Medicare. You can understand the success of this scheme with 60 lakhs poor have received free treatment by availing this scheme in the first 100 days of its introduction.
Under this scheme, now on an average everyday approximately 10 thousand poor people are receiving free treatment. Due to lack of facilities since several years these poor people were unable to get treatments. In times of peril, they would leave it to fate and prefer to wait in the wings to breathe their last but not leave behind their children in debt. Family would face trauma but would not go for medical help because they simply could not afford. But today they have the support of Ayushman Bharat.
Friends, the government is burning midnight oil and toiling hard to ensure that every citizen of this country enjoys a good health. It is our constant endeavor to provide affordable health care at minimum expense to our poor and middle class families.
In this pursuit central government has given priority to generic medicine as well. We have started a campaign to establish Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendra  centres to provide community medicine. Five thousand such centres are already operational by now across the country. These centres are offering generic medicine cheaper by 50% than the market rate. Those medicines which cost Rs.2000 are now available to them as cheap as Rs.350 or Rs.400 or Rs.500. The true beneficiaries of this system are specially those who have family members diagnosed of diabetes or other similar medical condition and have to buy their medicines on a regular basis. Beyond this the government has also put a maximum price ceiling for more than 850 varieties of medicines and surgical equipment. You cannot charge higher than this cap for these anymore. As a result of which we have been able to provide health care at really affordable cost.
Brothers and sisters, the cost of stents required to cure heart diseases are now 85% cheaper and knee implants are now available at 70 % lower cost than before. This one step of reducing the cost of stents has helped the middle class and the poor save almost 2.5 crores of rupees in a year. The reduction in knee implants has amounted to a saving of approximately 15 hundred crores incurred in health expenditure. We have further established 450 dialysis centres to tackle the issues of many of you brethren’s suffering from chronic kidney ailment which are providing free dialysis facility to all. In the last year we have achieved 35 lakhs free dialysis sessions already which has been helping the poor save Rs. 2000 .
Friends, in the leadership of BJP, the Central Government has taken the onus of improving and advancing the primary health care facility in all villages. It has now 75 years since we got independence. It is the mission and national commitment of Indian government to set up such 1.5 lakhs Health and Wellness Centres by the year 2022. Gujarat and other states are taking up the cause at war footing. These centres will provide medical treatment to generic illnesses as well as provide varied varieties of free stents for heart patients.
Friends, in the past four years along with health infrastructure, we have also succeeded in improving the quality of medical education phenomenally. There has been an enhancement in the intake in medical colleges. We have increased the intake to as many as 18 k MBBS and 15k PG seats. This has created new opportunities for the middle class children who aspire for a medical career. In the wake of this many new seats have been increased in Gujarat as well. We are proposing to start atleast one medical college within the range of three parliamentary constituencies.
Friends, this strong emphasis on health has catapulted the network of private hospitals. This has increased the opportunity for new hospitals in even smaller districts due to the implementation of Ayushman Bharat.
Since there are new hospitals mushrooming, it has increased the demand of for doctors, nurses and paramedics. The health sector a sunshine sector now which is going to open up huge career opportunities for our youth.
Brothers and sisters, the government has recently taken a critical decision with regard to employment generation for our youth. We have now made a provision for the kids of General Category belonging to BPL. They are now eligible to avail the benefit of 10% reservation in all government schemes as well as private organizations.
I congratulate the Gujarat Government to have been the frontrunner in implementing this provision. In this regard a mandate has already been issued to Central as well as State governments for its robust implementation.
Friends,
It was long requested for to elevate ourselves beyond caste, class and community and provide benefits to the economically weaker section of the general class. Unfortunately, the weak will power of politicians relegated this only to the slogans and manifestoes during elections as a bait for the voters. This requires a Constitutional Amendment. Previous governments did not have the courage to do it. But NDA government at the Centre demonstrated the strong will and actuated the dream of the middle class.
I once again reiterate, this has certainly not come at the cost of the benefits of reservation so far being reaped by the other classes. This will open up new vistas for social harmony and curb discrimination and resentments existing amongst us.
Friends, Central government has also decided to implement this new reservation policy from the upcoming session in this year itself across all Technical, Non-Technical and Management courses running in 900 universities and 40 thousand colleges of our country. To accommodate these extra reserved seats a 10% increase in intake has also been announced so that there is no adverse effect on the current system.
Friends, our government is fully committed to provide equal opportunities to all the citizens. The youth of our country is the new energy for New India. We can optimally capitalize upon this enthusiasm only if we create appropriate opportunities for all of them.
Days are gone of the discriminatory attitude meted out towards opportunities available for various talents. Commitment to ensuring Equality is in the DNA of BJP. We are conscious of the struggles of the deprived. Hence we pledge to offer equal opportunities in all the strata of society.
Brothers and Sisters, government is persevering towards reinstating equal opportunities across length and breadth of our nation so that no one remains untouched form the benefits, be they from village or city, deprived section or middle class is left out from the purview of development. This is the vision of “Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas”- Collective Efforts Inclusive Growth; and this is the developmental plan for the New India. We all must contribute in speeding up this process.
With this earnest request I once again, I once again extend my best wishes for this new health infrastructure, but also on its inauguration it will not be proper to say that this infrastructure remains well utilized. I will honestly pray that this never happens, no one should have to enter any hospital, and those who happen to be here unfortunately, must leave soon hale and hearty.
Many many thanks to Ahmadabad Municipal Corporation for their huge success. Kindly accept my immense gratitude.
Thank you!